The impact of climate change on the frequency and intensity of extreme weather-related events leaves no room to doubt. The Boris storm and the recent floods in Valencia are the most recent dramatic examples of that unquestionable correlation. As the fastest-warming continent, Europe will increasingly be impacted both by those events and by the long-term implications of climate change.
The human, economic and political consequences of that emerging climate insecurity should not be underestimated. If Europe does not intensify its climate resilience efforts, the already sizable climate protection gap could soon become unbridgeable.
Mind the protection gap
In its first ever European Climate Risk Assessment, the European Environment Agency rightly warns about the critical levels already reached by several climate threats, announcing heatwaves that will kill hundreds of thousands of people, and coastal floods alone that could cause annual economic damages of more than one trillion euros by the end of this century.
The increase in climate risks inevitably poses the question of insurability and pricing, already three quarters of the total economic losses caused by extreme weather and climate-related events currently remaining uninsured[1].
As the number of weather-related claims increases, the cost of insurance is bound to rise.
This inevitable rise will quickly raise the question of the social acceptability of insurance, deepening the protection divide between those who can afford to be protected and others, who would become increasingly vulnerable to the multiplication of climate hazards.
A whole-of-society responsibility
How much harm can be prevented will depend on the speed and effectiveness with which we can prepare our societies and adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change, as well as the rate at which we can cut global greenhouse gas emissions.
As things stand, insurers alone cannot provide all the answers to climate insecurity, especially when our traditional risk-sharing tools are being weakened. We need to think at the primary level of risk. Adapting to this new climate reality is a collective effort, which requires the cooperation from all stakeholders.
Join our event, “Mind the Climate Protection Gap! Rethinking Citizen Safety and Social Resilience”, at the European Economic and Social Committeee on January 28th, 2025. Register here
We cannot ignore the growing climate protection gap, which threatens to deepen societal inequalities and leave countless communities vulnerable to the intensifying impacts of climate change. Addressing this challenge requires a united effort to integrate mitigation, adaptation, and prevention into every facet of policy and planning. Insurers alone cannot bear the weight of climate risks; a whole-of-society approach is essential. The EU Climate Adaptation Plan must lead the way, ensuring proactive land-use policies, resilient infrastructure, and recognising the link with other planetary boundaries, to secure a sustainable and climate-resilient future for all.
Driven by our values as mutualist insurers, Aéma groupe is committed to act, and contribute to creating the social protection that European citizens are expecting, bridging resilience and solidarity.
Aéma Groupe is in the top 5 insurance companies in France, with a revenue of 15.6 billion euros in 2023. Its more than 20,000 employees and 1,800 elected representatives work every day to support and protect more than 11.7 million policyholders.
[1] EIOPA’s dashboard on the insurance protection gap for natural catastrophes